Apparatus for casting type bars or slugs



J. G. HOLBOURNS.

APPARATUS FOR CASTING TYPE BARS 0R SLUGS.

APPLICATION HLED FEB.28. I919.

1,415,445. Patented May 9, 1922.

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ATTYS.

UNITED MACHINERY LIMITED, 0]? LONDON, EN

' OF GREAT BRITAIN.

GLAND, A LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY APPARATUS roe onsrmeryrn Bans on sLUGs.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN GLENNIE HOL- BOURNS, a subject of the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Irelanchand residing at 188 and 189' Fleet Street,in the city of London, England, have invented new and useful Improvements in an Apparatus for Casting Type Bars or Slugs, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to the manufacture of mechanically cast type bars and appara tus therefor, and it more especially concerns the means for producing type bars of very shallow depth or thickness in the direction of height to paper. There has recently been a large and increasing demand for this class of type bar, and the principal object of the present invention is to provide means where by said type bars can be cheaply and expeditiously produced in typographical linecasting machines such as those known under the trade mark Linotype. a

The type bars of the above-named class (which bars for convenience are hereinafter termed slugs) when in printing position, depend for their support on their lowermost surfaces which rest on a suitableblock or base whereon they are fixedly retained by clips or frames engaging with the edges of said slugs. It therefore becomes indispensable that not only shall the said lowermost surface of each of the slugs be coplanar Y throughout, but that the corresponding surfaces of all of such slugs shall be similarly uniform each relatively to the others, so that when, as usually, the slugs are arranged 'and used in multiple, the impressions from all of them shall likewise be uniform.

As the product of the before particularized machines, is a metal body usually of standard type height, and bearing the print-' mg characters on one of its longitudinal edges, the present invention must necessarily involve the removal of all such parts of the body as cause the overalldimension in the direction of height to paper, to exceed the restricted limits of the so-called shallow slug.

The invention will now be described by reference to the accompanying drawings in which I Figure 1 is a perspective view of part of a shallow slug constructed according to the present invention;

Specification of Letters Patent. 1 Patented ,9, 1 9 22 Application filed February 22, 1:319; Serial No. 279,835.

Figure 2 is a transverse section Ofthe'same slug;

Figure 3 is a transverse section of a slug in the form in wh ch it is produced inthe before particularized line-casting machine and, I v

Figure ilS a perspective vlew showing vpart of the mould of the just named machine together with one of the matrices thereof and a portion of the castslug. v

Like numerals of reference are used to indicate like parts in the diiferent'figures of the drawings.

For producing a shallow slug according to this invention, the casting face of the mould l is recessed as at 2 Figure 4, for'receiving the molten metal which, on solidify- I ing, forms edges 3 which overhang the-body a formed in the mould slot 5.

As the just named bodyl; is to be .after- I wards detached or severed from the slug formed in'the facial recess 2 of the mould, the mould slot 5 in this operation, serves only as a channel for conducting the molten metal into the said facial recess and, for that reason, this bodyis herein regarded as, and

as thin as possible consistent with the free hereinafter termed, a sprue, and is made 1 passage of the molten metal through the slot 5.

. The sprue a, may be detached orsevered from the slug, which, as a'whole, is identified by the reference numeral 6,,in various ways, but it is imperative that whatever means be employed-for this purpose, thosemeans shall effect such a severance 'as' will ensure the line of separation or fractureoccurring preferably above, but certainly notbelow, the lowermost or ultimate supporting surface of the slug. This result is best attained by forming an arch; or recess 7 in the underside of the slug 6, atthepart of the latter at which the sprue 4 joins it," so that,

at the. completion of the casting operation,

the line of connection of sprue 4 and slug 6 is actually above the just named surface, as

clearly indicated in Figure 3.- The severance of'the sprue a from the slug 6 may then be conveniently effected by a circular saw diagrammatically indicated at 8 in Figure 3, the edgeof which cuts through the neck or part of the sprue 4 within the arch or recess 7. For this purpose, the slug 6, while still attached to its sprue 4, may be passed between guides which allow of it being moved only in the direction of its length, and it is during this movement that the neck of the slug is pushed past the saw 8 to effect the severance of the sprue from the slug, which latter is then left in the condition in which it is represented in Figure 2.

The severed sprues may be returned to the metal pot for remelting, or they may be utilized as printers furniture such as leads or for other desired purposes.

As shown in Figure 4, the before mentioned arch or recess 7 is produced by lips 9 extending along the two longitudinal edges of the mould slot 5, while the counterpart 0r convex side of the arch is formed by suitably shaped recesses in the matrices 10 adjacent to the cavities in which are formed the type faces llon the slugs.

It will be noted that the width of the lips 9 is less than the depth of the facial recess 2 and that, as-a result, the depth of the recess 7 in the base of the slug is less than the thickness of the slug measured at its edge portions. Hence, it should be understood that the presence of the recess in the slug does not necessarily require that the latter be cast with the raised rounded portion before mentioned. This raised portion constitutes the type carrying surface of the slug and is advantageous in supporting the type faces well above its edge portions, which are thus free to be engaged by retaining clips or holders although it is apparent that such raised portion would permit the deepening of the slug recess, if that were desired.

Having described my invention, I declare that what it claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. An apparatus for casting type bars or slugs of greater width than the height of thetype faces thereon, embodying a mold formed in its front face with a recess of a length and width corresponding to the length and width of the cast slug in its ultimate form and having a relatively narrow longitudinal parallel-walled slot communieating with said recess to produce a thin severable sprue on the slug and provided with a lip located in said facial recess to produce a recess in the base of the slug adjacent the sprue to permit the severance of the sprue above said base.

2. An apparatus as specified in claim 1, embodying further a line of matrices to close the recess in the face of the mold and containing cavities communicating therewith to produce on the cast slug type faces of less height than the width of the slug.

2-3. An apparatus as specified in claim 1, embodying further a line of matrices to close the recess in the face of the mold and containing rounded notches to produce on the slug cast in said recess a corresponding raised type carrying surface.

a. An apparatus for casting type bars or slugs, embodying a mold formed with a recess wherein the slug is cast, and a line of matrices to close said recess at one side and formed with rounded notches of less width than that of the mold recess to produce on the cast slug a corresponding raised type carrying surface, separating the edge portions of the slug.

5. in an apparatus for casting a type-bar or slug of less than standard type height and bearing a line of type faces thereon, the combination with a mold formed in its front face with a recess of a length, width and depth corresponding to the body portion of the cast slug in its ultimate form and having a relatively narrow longitudinal parallel-walled slot communicating with said recess to form a thin severable sprue joining the base of the slug and further provided with a lip located in the facial recess adj acent the longitudinal slot to produce a groove or depression in the base of the slug alongside the sprue to permit the severance of the latter above said base. of a matrix line supported in casting relation to the mold and closing the facial recess at its front and formed with cavities wherein the type faces on the slug are cast, the said cavities being of materially less height than the width of the facial recess so as to leave on the cast slug plain edge-portions located below and at oppositesides of the line of type faces thereon.

6. In an apparatus for casting type bars or slugs of less than standardheight and of greater width than the height of the type faces thereon and embodying a mold con structed follows: with a facial recess wherein the body portion of the slug in its ultimate form is cast, the said recess being of uniform depth throughoutand bounded by upper and lower parallel walls which determine the edges of the slug body portion; with a relatively narrow longitudinal parallel-walled slot arranged substantially at right angles to the facial recess and communicating therewith so as to produce a thin severable sprue oining the base of the slug body portion; and with at least one lip located in the facial recess adjacent the point of com munication therewith of the longitudinal slot so as to produce in the base of the slug body portion a groove or depression alongside the sprue to permit the severance of the latter above said base.

In testimony whereof I have aflixed my signature hereto.

JOHN GLENNIE noreounns; 

